“My girlfriend and I went to the doctor, he checked me out, because after my mom passed, I didn’t want to go down that same path,” Young said. “There’s a lot of life to live. Went to the doctor, he told me a couple simple things. You want to get off the needle, you need to lose a couple inches around the waist. I was like, forget that, let’s lose six.

“So my whole purpose was basically to get off the needle and be healthy. I wanted some great quality of life. And the next thing you know, I lost like 45 pounds and went and played in a couple of alumni games. And when you have Hall of Famers and great players and fans telling you that you retired too early, hey, you’ve got to listen to them. And I talked with my girlfriend about it, made the commitment....Now I’m back, at 230 pounds, and looking to make a return in 2012.”

As for his weight-loss secret, you’ll never believe it.

“Diet and exercise,” Young said. “As funny as that sounds, it’s true. I cut down on meals, on the size of the meals, four or five [smaller] meals a day, did a lot of cardio, and the biggest thing is staying with it. That’s the hardest thing that people do. You cannot take a day off. And because I didn’t take a day off, I’m in this great shape now, and this is it for me. I’m not gonna see that other side of me any more.”

Young encouraged anyone with diabetes to have hope, each properly and continue to exercise, no matter how modest the regime. And he also had a message for Washington fans.

“You know what, I never had an opportunity to say goodbye to them and thank [them] for the support that they gave me during the time I was in Washington,” he said. “Great fans. And Mike Morse for President.”